Michael Buchanan (gridiron football)

Michael Anthony Buchanan, Jr. (born January 24, 1991) is an American former professional football defensive end. He was selected by the New England Patriots in the seventh round of the 2013 NFL draft. He played college football at Illinois.

Early life
He attended Homewood-Flossmoor High School. He was selected to the Champaign News-Gazette All-State team. He was a four-star recruit according to Rivals.com. He also was ranked as the 14th defensive end prospect nationally by Rivals.com. He was ranked as the 59th overall prospect in the Midwest by SuperPrep. He also was ranked as a top-100 defensive end overall prospect by ESPNU. He chose Illinois over Purdue and Vanderbilt.

College career
He was selected to the Second-team All-Big Ten in 2011 and 2012 seasons. In his senior season, he was selected to the Illinois Fighting Illini's Outstanding Defensive Player and Defensive Lineman at annual postseason banquet.

New England Patriots
Buchanan was drafted in the seventh round (226th overall) by the New England Patriots of the NFL. The Patriots originally obtained the selection used to draft Buchanan in a trade that sent Aqib Talib to the Patriots. During the two years with the Patriots, Buchanan played in 18 games recording 9 tackles, five quarterback hits, and 2 sacks. On October 6, 2014, Buchanan was placed on Injured reserve for the rest of the 2014 season including the Patriots win over the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XLIX.

Buffalo Bills
On June 2, 2015, the NFL's Buffalo Bills announced the signing of defensive end/linebacker Michael Buchanan. On August 31, 2015, he was released by the Bills.

BC Lions
On October 13, 2015, Buchanan was signed to the practice roster of the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League (CFL). On November 10, 2015, he was released by the Lions.

Toronto Argonauts
On July 17, 2016, Buchanan was signed as a free agent by the Toronto Argonauts of the CFL. In August 2016, the team released Buchanan.

Edmonton Eskimos
Buchanan was signed to the practice roster of the Edmonton Eskimos on August 23, 2016. He played in five games for the Eskimos in 2016. He was released on February 23, 2017.

Personal life
He is the son of Michael Buchanan Sr., and Lolita Jordan.